Help needed to understand the PA4

I wonder if anyone could help shed light on a couple of things in the assessment report, which I've just received.

I should start by saying that there was good news and bad news, and while I'm grateful for the good news I'm also deeply disappointed and quite angry at the bad news. Last year I was reassessed for ESA on paper during the first lockdown and awarded another Support Group stay for 18 months. A few months later the PIP review form arrived. Between the ESA assessment and getting the AR1 I broke my back, and yet IAS didn't take this into account and decided to review me over the phone anyway. I might add that I submitted a detailed claim form based on th best advice here and lots of relevant and contemporary letters, care plans, etc. I note that the PA4 indicates that they haven't contacted any of my doctors or my psychiatrist.

During the call I made a point of reiterating that I've been unable to do prescribed courses of physiotherapy at home (for other conditions) because the spinal fracture had no direct traumatic cause. (But I have osteoporosis and that can happen, even though I'm relatively young.) However, since my treatment pathways have been very limited by the Covid situation I'm still no further forward in terms of investigating the fracture and scope for revised treatment, and in the meantime have been advised not to undertake any physiotherapy at home or at hospital. I live alone, so the safety aspect is a big consideration, all sorts of risk involved. Assessor has chosen to ignore this altogether! I feel sure a tribunal would seriously acknowledge the risks involved and also understand that it has set my recovery back from other conditions.

Anyway, my previous award (DLA to PIP) was standard rate daily living for 3 years. I got precisely 8 DL points back then, and 4 for mobility. I was too ill to dispute it at the time, but I lost around half the monthly DLA rate I had been at for 5 years previously.. The assessor's report today gives me 10 points for Daily Living and 8 for Mobility. Had the physiotherapy situation been taken into account I'd have scored another 4 points at least. Not only that, but the assessor has also ignored how my (diagnosed and medically evidenced) EUPD affects me socially and scored me 2 points, so there's another valid point of contention. I'm happy with the Mobility decision, on the other hand.

But the thing that has really got my goat is the recommendation that my award be reviewed in 18 months!! And that's my first question - does that equal the length of my award when the DM's letter arrives, or will there be a year added to that 18 months, so that it actually means I won't be reviewed for at least another 18 months? Because I think I could just about live with a 30-month award, but the idea that they could conceivably review me in 6 months is ludicrous and I will ask for MR.

My second question is about a part near the end of the form that says "It is likely that the functional restriction identified in this report will be present at the recommended point of review". The assessor has clicked Yes to this section and I have no idea what that means. Perhaps it's deeper and more meaningful to the DWP than it appears to me, but it seems to contradict the point of reviewing me at that stage? If my functional restrictions are still going to be present at the point of review, is that them acknowledging that I do indeed have longer term disabilities, or what?! I'm confused.

For balance, the call with the assessor wasn't the ordeal I'd dreaded. She was professional and thorough and I didn't get one single 'nonsense' question, as so many do (and as I did at DLA to PIP face to face). So I was spared in that respect, and I can actually believe that the assessor does work for the profession stipulated on the PA4. I just think she was working to an agenda nevertheless, and has deliberately ignored all the evidence that suggests that I can't safely or effectively carry out at least 7 hours of weekly physiotherapy at home, as has been prescribed. We discussed it twice during the call! And she had a psychotherapist's and a psychiatrist's testimony regarding my EUPD diagnosis and limitations and has still only given 2 points

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone knows the answer to this scenario:

Had a phone call recently from a case manager who asked how long my mobility has been affected by my conditions. She wanted to gauge if she could pay me a mobility component from the date my review form was sent out last summer. After I'd given her a bit more info she was happy to backdate the mobility award. Obviously I was very pleased with that, until a few hours later when I got a horrid doubt in my mind. As in my earlier post, I've seen the assessor's report from my recent phone assessment and she recommended an 18 month award. Does the case manager's decision to backdate the mobility component mean that the 18 month period will start from when the review form was sent out 6 months ago? Because if so, it could be I get another review form through the letterbox before the decision letter even arrives

I'm no expert, but I had a thought about the physio. Perhaps she didn't award you points because, although you're prescribed physio, you've also been told not to do it. She may have taken the view that you're therefore not really prescribed those 7 hours of physio at the moment, so you can't score points for that activity.

Also, don't assume that the assessor or the decision-maker know much (or for that matter, anything) about EUPD. You need to describe how it affects you very specifically, for each activity that you think it applies to.